Kusan: City of Wolves
A pixel-art cyberpunk shooter with animal characters and brutal combat.
Kusan: City of Wolves is a top-down shooter released on July 30, 2026, by South Korean developer CIRCLEfromDOT and publisher PQube for Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. Players control Jin, a feline soldier and antihero who uses a metal prosthetic arm—the "War hand"—as a close-range melee weapon. The game takes place in a fictional cyberpunk city with a neo-noir atmosphere, populated by anthropomorphic animals. Its pixel art style and gameplay have drawn comparisons to *Hotline Miami*. Themes include gore, drug use, sex trafficking, and crime, with cluttered levels reinforcing the dystopian aesthetic. Comic-book-style cutscenes advance one panel at a time with player input, and the soundtrack is a hip-hop score by South Korean rapper Loptimist.
Gameplay is level-based: players clear floors of enemies, then dismiss a scorecard (grading time, kills, combo, style, bravery, parry, and a bonus) before proceeding. Death occurs in one hit, respawning the player at the start of the current floor for rapid retries. Combat includes melee and ranged attacks, dodging, blocking, parrying, and destructible elements like furniture, props, and doors. The default weapon is the War hand, which kills instantly at close range. Ranged options include the throwable quantum blade and unlockable firearms, upgradable with "bolts" (in-game currency) at a laundromat run by a reindeer NPC named Nimo. A grid-based inventory system requires careful management. Levels feature end bosses, and players can replay floors to improve scores.
Development began in 2018 and took about eight years, starting with a team of four that eventually shrank to two. Designer Yeom Jeong-gyu cited John Wick as inspiration for Jin and the quantum knife, and named Hideo Kojima, Satoru Iwata, and Shigeru Miyamoto as influences. The city name Kusan derives from the developer's Busan headquarters, with additional inspiration from Hong Kong and Tokyo. Yeom contacted Loptimist via Instagram in 2018, expecting rejection, but the rapper agreed and contributed existing tracks. A demo released on March 17, 2026. Animal characters were chosen to lighten the violence and make the city feel like a jungle; the subtitle "City of Wolves" references a French idiom for twilight, when a dog and wolf are hard to distinguish.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- CIRCLEfromDOT
- Publisher
- PQube
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- Windows · Xbox Series X/S · PlayStation 5 · Nintendo Switch
- Released
- July 30, 2026
- Genre
- Top-down shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
- Composer
- Loptimist
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game's development began in 2018 and took approximately eight years to complete, starting with a team of four people that eventually reduced to two. CIRCLEfromDOT CEO and designer Yeom Jeong-gyu stated that the main character Jin was inspired by Keanu Reeves' character John Wick, and the 'quantum knife' also shares that inspiration. Yeom cited Hideo Kojima, Satoru Iwata, and Shigeru Miyamoto as influences, and noted that the team intended for levels to play out as a form of puzzle. The city name Kusan is based on the developer's headquarters in Busan, with additional inspiration drawn from Hong Kong and Tokyo.
The decision to portray characters as animals came from Yeom's desire to counterbalance the game's violence and make it more 'light-hearted', as well as to aid emotive expression and make the city feel like a kind of jungle. The subtitle 'City of Wolves' is drawn from a French idiom referring to twilight, a time when it is difficult to tell a dog from a wolf. The game mixes retro pixel art with modern lighting elements, with neon lighting heavily influenced by John Wick. Playtesting led to the inclusion of optional aim assist due to controller aiming difficulties, and AI elements were constantly tweaked to maintain a high difficulty level. The comic-book style cutscenes, displayed one panel at a time with player input, were influenced by Remedy Entertainment's 2001 shooter Max Payne.
Reader's Guide
Kusan: City of Wolves has been generally well-received by critics, carrying a Metacritic score of 80 out of 100. Reviewers consistently praised the gameplay, soundtrack, and replayability, while some found the narrative lacking. Checkpoint Gaming's Lisa Pollifroni gave the game a 7 out of 10, complimenting the art style, gameplay, and soundtrack while noting the story is 'confusing and not successfully integrated' and that the game can be challenging. Gamereactor's Jarno Varesmaa scored it 8 out of 10, also comparing it to Hotline Miami and praising the gameplay and soundtrack, while stating the 'narrative and dialogue fall flat right up until the final act.' A 4.5 out of 5 review by Dutch publication Gameliner highlighted the soundtrack as a strength but noted it is less impactful when compared to Hotline Miami. The game's level-based gameplay requires the player to clear floors of enemies, dying in a single hit and respawning at the start of the current floor. A grid-based inventory system and scorecards ranging from C to SS add strategic depth, and the game features 54 levels at launch.
Did You Know?
- The game's city Kusan is named after the developer's headquarters in Busan, South Korea.
- The soundtrack was provided by South Korean rapper Loptimist, who was contacted via Instagram in 2018.
- The subtitle 'City of Wolves' comes from a French idiom about twilight.
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